Oh, Sing Sweet Nightingale
by Dream of a Dream
Summary: Izumi Amaya is sent to Deadman Wonderland after being convicted of murder, but when Carnival Corpse recognizes her as a new bird, her life gets a lot more complicated. Of course, the company of an ex-cop, super monk, and various other criminals doesn't make things any easier either... Set before and during the manga/anime. GenkakuxOCxSenji/Crow
1. Chapter 1: The New Chick

**Hello to everyone who decided to read this story! I thank you all for your time. I'm just going to quickly say a few things here first, so…yeah. First of all, if you see a mistake somewhere in my writing that doesn't follow the manga/anime, please let me know – obviously some things will change since this is an OC story, but if I put down the wrong information about DMW somewhere, please let me know so I can fix it. Secondly, yes, there will be romance in this, but it's not going to jump right in in the first two chapters or anything (these things take time, darn it!) And yes, before anyone decides to comment on it, I do know that Genkaku is gay, but please remember this is fanfiction, so we are allowed to bend some rules here ;D Lastly for now, this is rated T for the moment, but since this is the world of Deadman Wonderland, that could change (I'm paranoid and don't want to get in trouble for incorrect ratings :P ) but if I do change the rating, I will let readers know in advance. Additionally, since I enjoy listening to music and take inspiration from it as I write, I'm going to include a song or two listed in the beginning of each chapter that helped me write it, just in case anyone is interested. Alright, I think that's enough rambling for now. Enjoy the read, and don't forget to leave a review! :)**

"Choke" by Hybrid

Chapter 1: The New Chick

It was close to sunset as a man with dark grey hair sat motionless at his desk, his glasses reflecting the light from the projected monitor in front of him as he watched a young prisoner hopelessly trying to defend herself against two older ones. The girl was kicking and screaming as she tried to get the men off of her, her efforts only wasted as one of the men managed to grab her leg while the other grabbed an arm and a fistful of dark purple hair, forcing her head back to look at his leering face.

Watching them all struggle, a smirk began to tug at the man's lips; the girl was definitely determined, he'd give her that. But this wasn't a fight she was going to win with her physical strength alone. No, she was not going to live if it carried on like this.

The man slowly leaned back in his desk chair, lacing his hands behind his head as he began to grow bored with the display in front of him. Maybe Takashima's data and the files he had received were inaccurate? He frowned. That couldn't be it. That _wasn't_ it. The girl still needed a little more time; he was sure of it. Then, he would decide whether or not this experiment was a success. Until then, he would just have to keep watching.

And then it happened: a quick splash of red appeared on the monitor.

Quickly leaning forward in his seat and peering closely at the images on the screen before him, the man's frown quickly turned into a wide grin. Squinting, his eyes settled on the figure of the girl, just as her tormentors both fell to the ground around her, blood quickly seeping through their clothes and pooling around them.

How unfortunate; his thoughts had distracted him during the best part. Now he had two corpses to clean up before Makina found out and started asking questions. But that wasn't his top priority right now. He had witnessed the girl's transformation, had seen the blood curl around her fingertips before dripping onto the cold metal floor. It was a delightful sight indeed.

Carnival Corpse's next bird had hatched, and Tamaki was going to make sure he got to it first.

Pressing a few of displays on the projection screen, there were a couple of short rings followed by a click, and a man's voice was projected into the room. "Chief Warden Tamaki?"

Tamaki grinned as he leaned forward to speak. "My good sir, we have a new bird in the facility. She's currently in Hallway 4 of B-Block. There should be a small group of guards posted nearby awaiting further orders. Send them after her along with the guards in Hallway 7. Don't have them capture the girl; I just want them to force her towards G-Block. After that we'll close off her escape and leave it to the Undertakers and their foot soldiers to take her down."

"What about Chief Guard Makina?"

"Just keep her away from the area and tell your men to report to me once the girl is successfully in G-Block. Leave the rest to me," Tamaki instructed.

"Understood, sir," the voice replied curtly. There was a click on the other end of the line, and Tamaki was left in silence once more.

Bringing his attention back to the young prisoner on the screen, Tamaki smiled to himself, amused at the girl's horrified expression of the sight before her. "Oh, Ms. Amaya, if you only knew how much more interesting your life is about to become."

* * *

Izumi was shaking so hard she felt that her knees would soon buckle under her and send her crashing to the ground. There was blood everywhere; all over her hands and clothes and splattered across the floor.

The only thing left of the two men who had previously stood before her was a heap of bloody skin and clothes.

Izumi's breaths were coming out fast and short, and already she could feel bile rising in her throat. Struggling to keep her balance, she turned to look away from the corpses before depositing her latest meal at her feet, tears falling down her face with each heave that racked her body.

Once the convulsions began to subside, she wiped her mouth on the back of her hand and turned her attention back to the bodies in front of her. What had happened?

The men had stood before her, threatening, promising pain and unease. They grabbed onto her, and she had struggled against their firm grips, pushing and kicking and moving her body as much as she could in order to make holding on as difficult as possible - although the men did far more damage to Izumi than she did to them. They slammed her back into the wall in an attempt to pin her against it, her head painfully hitting the cold metal, and for a moment Izumi was truly afraid that she was going to die right then and there.

But suddenly something snapped inside of her, and then she had felt it - a somewhat cold sensation running throughout her body, sending shivers down her spine and making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

She wasn't going to die here. With all her might Izumi pulled her legs to her chest, jerking the prisoner holding them towards her in the process. As soon as the man was close enough for her to reach, she threw her free arm out towards him and jerked her trapped arm towards the other as well, aiming to punch the one holding her legs and move the one clutching her arm away from the wall.

There was the sound of an impact, and for an instant she thought she had succeeded in striking both men, until she noticed the blood dripping down her arms and the frozen expressions on the prisoners' faces. She hadn't punched the men; in fact, her fists weren't even clenched.

Izumi slowly pulled her hands back, her stomach twisting in horror as she saw that her fingers had actually punctured the men's faces. _How did…my fingers…? No…_

Izumi shakily pulled her fingers the rest of the way out of the men and examined her hands. Starting from her first knuckles, on the end of each finger was what looked like a spike-shaped extension of… Izumi frowned. Was this…blood?

_What is this?_ She whispered in her head, her eyes wide with fear. _I don't understand…_

So here she was, a nineteen-year-old inmate of Deadman Wonderland, already having been charged with murder, now with the blood of two more people on her hands – literally. Could things get any better?

Gradually the sound of heavy boots smacking the ground began to echo through the hallway, and Izumi knew that the prison's guards were close by. Of course, why they failed to take action in response to Izumi's clearly audible sounds of pain and struggling only moments earlier was beyond her.

Izumi began to look around in a panic as the sound of the guard's footsteps grew closer. What was she going to do?! What were they – no, scratch that – what was Chief Guard Makina going to do to her for this? If they put you in prison for killing people, then what did they do to you for killing people in prison? Izumi really had no idea, and she didn't ever want to find out.

The way things were now, Izumi figured she had two options: she could either run like a coward and hope that she wouldn't be caught – highly unlikely; or she could wait for the guards to arrive, tell them everything that happened, and hope that they wouldn't kill her – also highly unlikely.

So, naturally, Izumi chose to run. Sure it probably wasn't the best choice in the short run, but at that moment it sure as hell beat sticking around.

Tearing off down the hallway, Izumi frantically began looking for a room that could act as a temporary hiding place from the guards. She couldn't tell how many men were chasing her, but she knew it was only a matter of time before they eventually caught up to her.

But how had they managed to follow her up until now? She didn't make that much noise running, did she? Or maybe they had security cameras covering every inch of the place and were just following her movements based on them?

A thought suddenly popped into Izumi's head, and without stopping, she glanced down at her shoes, only to have her suspicions confirmed. The guards weren't following her; they were following the trail of blood she was leaving behind from her shoes.

Mentally cursing herself for not realizing it earlier, Izumi stopped running and reached down to jerk her shoes off, tossing them to the side with her socks and shivering as her bare feet made contact with the cold floor. At least she wasn't standing still.

Running down a hallway to her left, Izumi instantly stopped in her tracks, nearly causing her to lose her balance and fall forward as another group of guards appeared around the corner giving chase. _Guess they called for backup…_ Izumi figured, and quickly moved back in the direction she came from, taking another left as she did so, so as not to run into her original pursuers who were now even closer.

After another minute of running, Izumi began to feel her legs cramping and a stitch forming in her side. Her body wasn't ready to go through such exercise yet – especially since the incident with the other prisoners had left her stomach empty and her body bleeding and bruised. In her present condition, she probably wouldn't be able to run for more than a few minutes. How did she ever think that she had a chance at escape?

Izumi could feel tears pooling in her eyes, only to have them run down her cheeks when she tried to hold them back. She didn't want to be here; she wanted to go home. This was all wrong. Everything was wrong.

It was only her second day in Deadman Wonderland and already she was in trouble again.

Her pace was starting to slow considerably as her legs began to tire, yet she still kept pushing herself to move. She didn't want to give up; she didn't want to get caught. Izumi knew it was a stupid hope, but running away just seemed like a good idea to her at the moment.

Izumi rounded another corner and quickly came to a stop as a small group of guards came into view farther down the hall. At this point she didn't even bother trying to hide in one of the door frames as the guards were already heading in her direction at a decent pace. It was almost like they were sending the whole prison's security after her. Running back the way she came, she headed farther down the bright hallway before taking a right, praying that there wouldn't be any guards waiting for her around the corner.

Fortunately for her, there weren't any guards. But there weren't any doors either – nothing but empty walls. She had run into a dead end.

Izumi slowed from a run to a jog to something like a stumbling walk. Upon reaching the wall she stopped, her shoulders slumping as she let out a ragged breath in despair. Reaching out, she placed both of her hands against the wall, moving her fingertips over its cool surface as if to see if it was really there.

_No, no, no, no, no!_ she screamed in her head. _Why this? Why now? Who puts a hallway in a building without any freaking doors?!_

Outside the hallway Izumi could hear the guards heavy footfalls growing closer; there was no time left to run away.

She shook her head in disbelief, looking all along the wall for something – anything – that might open some sort of door she hadn't seen. But the more Izumi searched, the more she began to realize that there was no chance of her finding anything that could save her. With her hope of escape now completely gone, Izumi slammed her fist against the wall, paying little attention to the pain it sent up her arm.

A second later the guards pursuing her rounded the corner, and Izumi knew the chase had officially ended. Slowly she turned around to face them, her body beginning to shake with fear as her heart pounded in her chest. Some of the guards had their guns pointed directly at her, and Izumi wondered if they going to shoot her for killing the other men.

But then a thought suddenly came to her and Izumi froze. She had killed those two men. _She had killed those two men_. _How_ had she killed them?

Ignoring the guards for a minute, Izumi looked down at her hands to study them closely. There had been claws of blood stemming from her fingertips. Those were what had saved her earlier and killed those other prisoners. But that sounded completely ridiculous. How was that even possible? Izumi still didn't fully understand what she had done or how she had done it, but perhaps if she could do it again, she still had a chance at escaping.

Izumi didn't have to kill anyone – just maim them so they wouldn't be able to stop her, she reasoned.

Just then there was a loud whirring sound from behind her, and Izumi turned to see the wall beginning to slide upwards towards the ceiling. _No wonder this hallway seemed so weird_, she thought to herself, the footsteps of the guards behind her now drowned out by the sound of the wall moving.

Izumi watched as the wall disappeared into the ceiling. So did this mean she had managed to hit some invisible switch on the wall or…? Izumi frowned. But wait, if this now cleared her path, why weren't the guards coming after her? Were they just planning to gun her down if she ran, or was that their intent either way?

Izumi was about to turn around but jumped when she suddenly felt a pair of hands grab onto her shoulders a second later, fear engulfing her once more as the guard attempted to move her from her spot. However, what she wasn't expecting was for the guard to roughly push her forward, causing her to stumble towards the space where the wall had been moments before.

As Izumi managed to catch her balance once she was on the other side, she spun back around to face the guard who had pushed her, then back to the others behind him, a look of confusion written across her face. They still had their guns trained on her, but none of them made any movements.

There was a familiar whirring sound and Izumi looked up to see the wall moving back down into place.

"They're…letting me go?" she whispered to herself, still confused as to what was happening.

If they weren't going to shoot her and they weren't going to capture her, what were they trying to do then? She seriously doubted they were going to help her escape. So then why send her down here? Izumi wondered as the wall finally reached the floor, sending a loud echo down the hallway behind her. Was this a trap of some sort? The hair on the back of her neck began to stand as a cold feeling began to spread throughout her body. Or was it something else?

"Hey there."

Izumi whirled around at the sudden masculine voice to look down the hallway behind her. At the very end of it there were a number of what Izumi assumed to be more guards, each one of them dressed all in white from head to toe with various weapons held at their sides. That is, all of them except for the one who stood front and center.

His appearance contrasted so much with the rest that Izumi almost wondered if she was hallucinating. Shoulder-length red hair, flame-printed robes, smoking a cigarette with a guitar strung over his shoulder… it made a part of Izumi want to laugh out loud at him.

The man was looking expectantly at her for some reason, but she had no idea what she was supposed to say or do.

When she continued to remain silent, the man spoke again. "You the new chick?"

"…New chick? What?" Izumi asked slowly, the words sounding surprisingly dumb as they left her mouth.

But Izumi didn't let it bother her. The man with the guitar was a good distance away from her, but she was quickly beginning to feel very uncomfortable under his gaze. Something was very off about the man, and whatever that something was, it was telling her to get the hell away from him.

From farther down the hallway, the man mumbled something incoherent to some of the guards next to him, and shortly afterwards two of them began making their way towards Izumi, a sword at each of their sides.

Izumi inhaled sharply at their approach and moved back towards the wall behind her, fearful of what they might do.

"What do you want?" Izumi questioned them once they were before her, towering over her small form. The two didn't answer her, but instead moved to take hold of her arms, causing Izumi to jerk back away from them and against the wall before they could get a firm grip on her.

"Stay away from me," Izumi threatened them, well aware of the fact that she was in no condition to fight. She knew she had been losing blood from somewhere for a while now, and could feel herself growing weaker by the minute; with each breath her body was becoming more and more numb. If she tried to run again, she'd probably wind up passing out, and that was the last thing she wanted to do at a time like this.

Once again the two guards moved to take ahold of Izumi, this time their efforts proving successful as she had nowhere to go with her back against a wall. But that didn't mean she was going down without a fight, and she immediately began struggling in the guards' grips.

"Come on kid, don't make this more difficult than this needs to be," she heard the red-haired man lazily call out to her from farther down the hallway.

Izumi ignored his comment and continued to struggle, managing to kick one of the guards hard in the side of his knee, only to have the other slam his fist into her gut. Mentally cursing the guards, Izumi gagged as the impact left her winded, her vision blurring as she doubled over, making consciousness all the harder to hold on to.

_This is bad_…she thought to herself as the guards began to drag her down the hallway towards the others. _I can hardly feel my limbs anymore, but my insides feel as though they're going cold._

Lifting her head as high as she could, she watched with heavy lidded eyes as the red-haired man and the other guards came closer. Stopping inches before the group, the red-head bent down to look at Izumi's poor state – though she could barely keep herself conscious enough to notice.

Reaching out, he patted his hand firmly on Izumi's head, noting with a grin that despite her fading consciousness, she still flinched at the touch. Then, moving his hand to the back of her head, he buried his fingers deep into her hair for a moment and frowned, grabbing a fistful of hair by the roots and giving a harsh tug, causing Izumi to let out a pained gasp, tears brimming in her eyes.

"That explains a lot." The man let out a sigh of disappointment and straightened back up, barely paying attention to the blood on his hand as he pulled it away from Izumi's head. "Man, I thought Tamaki said she was going to put up more of a fight. Lying bastard… Should've told me the kid was already half unconscious."

He shifted his attention to Izumi's captives. "You two: you're coming with me to take her to see Takashima," he instructed. "I doubt the kid will be able to do much in her current state, but if she tries anything, I'll be the one to put her out first – you just hold her still."

Without another word the man turned his back to them, and it was then that unconsciousness finally overtook Izumi; the twisting red flames printed on the man's robes the last thing she saw before she was swallowed up by the darkness.


	2. Chapter 2: Welcome

**Oh how long it has been since I posted last! :( As the author I do apologize for the delay. Hopefully the summer will let me write and post more often. In the meantime, a big thank you to my single lovely reviewer ****mcpidy**** – it may be just one comment, but it has kept me inspired to write. As usual, don't hesitate to tell me if you see any grammatical errors or if something is unclear! Enjoy the read and don't forget to leave a review! I do not own Deadman Wonderland, only my OCs.**

"Lux Aeterna" by Clint Mansell

Chapter 2: Welcome

Izumi woke to the sound of rustling paper and slowly peeled her eyes open, squinting as she attempted to see past the light that was suddenly blinding her. After a few moments of rapid blinking and blinding white, her vision finally began to adjust, and she found herself lying in a bed, a pair of white curtains drawn up as makeshift walls on her left and right.

"So you're finally up," Izumi heard a woman's voice say, and turning her head slightly in the direction from which she heard the voice, noticed a brown-haired woman wearing a white lab coat sitting across from her, a stack of papers resting on her lap. "Your injury was so severe that for a while we were afraid you weren't going to wake," the woman further explained, and began transferring the papers from her lap to the small table resting next to her.

A moment later she stood from her seat and made her way over to where Izumi lay in bed. Izumi moved to sit up as the woman approached, but was immediately forced to lie back down again as a bolt of pain ran through her head.

"Ah ah ah," the woman instructed as she reached Izumi's side, "you're still not ready for that yet. Wouldn't want you to worsen your condition now, would we?" She offered Izumi a smile and reached out to pull the covers back over her.

In her weakened and tired state, Izumi didn't bother to try and argue with her, knowing that the woman was probably prepared to tie her down to the bed if necessary. Once she was tucked back in comfortably, Izumi frowned at the short-haired woman.

"I've seen you before, haven't I?" she asked as the woman adjusted her glasses and reached for her wrist to take her pulse. "When I first came to this place, you were there weren't you? I think you were talking to the doctor that saw me for my medical examination," she explained. The woman nodded curtly and released her wrist, seeming satisfied.

"I do recall seeing you a few days ago, though I don't think we were ever properly introduced. I'm Takashima, the head doctor at this facility. I normally just examine the medical records of the prisoners in the park and tend to the major injuries that some of them come in with. Down here, however, I tend to work with all of the patients."

Izumi looked confused at the woman. "Down here?" she inquired, and Takashima nodded.

"You're under the park at this moment; you're in G-Block."

"G-Block? But I though there were-," Izumi started before Takashima raised a hand to silence her.

"Don't worry about that for the moment. Right now I want to know how you're doing. Feeling dizzy or nauseous at all? Any blurry vision or anything like that?"

Izumi gave the slightest shake of her head, and brought her hand to her forehead to feel cloth against her fingertips. Tracing her hands over the cloth, she soon found that it encircled her entire head, though more so in the back than in the front.

"As I said before, we were beginning to think that you weren't going to wake," Takashima spoke again. "You've been out for a few days now, but you're still in much better condition now than when Genkaku brought you in."

Izumi frowned at the name. _Genkaku… Genkaku… Why does that name sound so familiar?_

It only took a second for the memory to come rushing back before Izumi's eyes widened in realization and she tried to sit up again, doing her best to ignore the pain it caused her.

"What happened to me? There were two men who… and then they – I did something to them, but I don't understand how," she said, her voice sounding frantic as the words poured from her mouth. "But then there was just the blood, and I don't know… And the men who brought me here – what happened to them?"

Takashima moved to pull up a chair next to the bed and sat herself down comfortably, sitting back as if she already knew the next few minutes would be spent answering questions. "To put it simply: you took a hard hit to the back of your head," she told Izumi, tapping the side of her head where it wasn't bandaged. "When Genkaku brought you in, you were already unconscious and losing blood fast. Since it was difficult to examine the wound with all the blood and your hair in the way, we ended up having to cut off a good chunk of your hair in the back just to be sure there were no other injuries there."

_That explains all the bandages in the back of my head_, Izumi noted to herself, although she wasn't sure what to feel about having a large bald patch there. _Guess I could always try covering it up or something, assuming that wouldn't make it look worse_, she reasoned as Takashima continued to speak.

"Fortunately, our examinations showed us that you weren't in serious danger aside from blood loss. You were bleeding so much that I was actually quite surprised your skull wasn't fractured…"

"But I'm okay?" Izumi asked hopefully, praying that the injury wasn't going to leave her with permanent damage of some sort.

Takashima nodded. "Yes; for the moment you're okay. But I must warn you that any further impact to your skull could result in serious damage – both physical and mental, so be careful not to put too much pressure on your head for a bit. In the meantime, I can give you painkillers to help with your head while you're here, but it'll be up to you to watch yourself after that," she explained as Izumi nodded quietly in understanding before speaking again.

"And the two men that attacked me? What about them? What happened?" she asked, her hands clenching the covers ever so slightly.

For a moment it looked like something flashed in Takashima's eyes before she closed them and beamed at Izumi. "We'll discuss that later when you're in better condition. I don't think it'd do much good to talk about it now," she said, dismissing the topic as if it was of no concern. "For the time being, just rest up," Takashima instructed as she stood from her chair and went back over to her stack of papers on the table.

"Do you know how long I'll be here?" Izumi called out as the woman moved to exit the room.

Part of her was dreading having to stay immobile in a bed for an extended period of time, but the other half was fearful of what might happen after she left the medical facility. At least in a hospital bed she was safe, she figured. No matter how she looked at it, it was better than being back in that hallway with those two prisoners or the group of white-armored guards.

Takashima turned around once she reached the door, her brow lightly creased in thought as she considered the question for a moment before deciding. "Well, normally I'd say about two weeks, but I think we can cut it down to one," she told Izumi. "After all, we wouldn't want you getting too bored all cooped up in here, right?" she said with a smile, although Izumi couldn't help but feel unnerved by it.

Nevertheless, she did her best to return the doctor's smile, even if they both realized she didn't really mean it.

* * *

One week later

Izumi watched the spectacled man with cold eyes as he entered the room and came to stand at the foot of her bed. He wore that same slimy grin the first time they had met too, she remembered, wanting nothing more than to wipe it off his stupid face. She would have done it too, if it weren't for the bindings Takashima had put on her to keep her from moving off the bed. _And attacking the bastard too_, Izumi thought to herself.

"Oh my, if I didn't know any better I'd say you were displeased to see me, Miss Amaya," the chief warden smiled at her, clearly not bothered in the slightest by the glare she was sending his way.

"I have absolutely no reason to be pleased by your visit," Izumi answered honestly, the hate clearly present in her voice.

"Yes, I suppose that is true," Tamaki admitted, "but I see no reason why that should keep us from having a mature and respectful conversation with one another. After all, we do have much to talk about now that you're awake and fully capable of holding a conversation."

At that moment he turned his back to her, and reaching into his suit pocket, produced a small remote, which he pointed at the wall directly facing Izumi. Pressing a button on the remote, a holographic screen appeared on the wall a second later, and Tamaki turned back around to look at Izumi.

"For the past few years, Deadman Wonderland has served as both a prison and an amusement park for the masses, providing entertainment with the help of society's worst criminals. But, unbeknownst to the public, there is another form of entertainment we have here; a special and rare performance like none have ever seen before." His eyes met Izumi's then, and she felt a chill go down her spine. "And you, my dear, are now our newest performer," he said, and pressing another button on his remote, caused the screen on the wall to come to life with a multitude of images.

Izumi narrowed her eyes at Tamaki, but finally shifted her gaze to the screen, only to wish she hadn't a moment later. The images were appearing all over the screen; a grotesque collage of people, their bodies mangled and dismembered and covered in blood as they looked to be fighting one another. Izumi could feel her heart pounding faster and faster in her chest as the images continued to multiply, depicting new horrors that caused her insides to turn. She felt like she was going to be sick. It was all too terrible to look at, and yet she somehow couldn't tear her eyes away from the screen, as if the carnage had pulled her into a trance that was silently daring her to keep watching.

When the images finally stopped, Izumi managed to turn her attention back to Tamaki only to find him watching her expectantly. Tears were streaming down her now-pale face, and in what little voice she could find, she whispered to him, "What is this? What have you done to me?"

Tamaki's eyebrows rose in surprise then. "What have _I_ done to you? Oh no, you seem to misunderstand me, my dear. _I_ have not done anything to you. I have only brought you into this facility; everything else has been all you," he told her. "Unlike most, you have been given a great gift, Miss Amaya – a gift that I am very much interested in: the Branch of Sin." At Izumi's confused look, the chief warden continued. "When those two prisoners attacked you earlier, you were unarmed, yet you managed to kill the both of them. How is that?"

"You're talking about the blood," Izumi stated, her response sounding more like a question than an answer.

Tamaki nodded. "Your blood to be exact. The Branch of Sin is an ability that gives a person control over their own blood in extraordinary ways." He motioned to the images over on the screen with a tilt of his head. "While it may not be so obvious in some of the images, look carefully at the blood you see. At first glance it looks only like a random splash of blood, like paint smeared across a canvas. But if you look a bit closer, you will realize that that is not so," he said, as Izumi forced herself to look back at the collage of images on the screen, analyzing each of them closely.

Sure enough, just as the man had said, if she followed the path of the blood in each shot, Izumi could see that they twisted and streaked in ways that should not have been possible.

"Marvelous, is it not, Miss Amaya?" Tamaki went on as she continued to study the screen. "The Branch of Sin is unique for each person who possesses it – or it is at least once they learn how to use it properly."

Noting Izumi's lack of response, the chief warden continued. "As I mentioned earlier, the images you are looking at on the screen in front of us have been taken from Carnival Corpse, this park's greatest and most private attraction, and the one which you will be participating in. True, the sport may be intense, but I prefer to think of it as a learning experience rather than one of punishment. After all, we may as well put you to use since you're here. It does both of us much better than to have you sit locked in a cell all day and night." Noting the horrified look that had crept onto Izumi's face during the previous minute, Tamaki approached Izumi's bed, stopping once he was directly beside her to her left.

"Don't worry, my dear," Tamaki spoke, the false concern evident in his voice. "While you may not know the full extent of your Branch of Sin yet, it probably won't take you long to find it upon participating in Carnival Corpse." His grin widened. "Well, at least that's what we hope. It would be a shame to lose someone so early on when you've only just arrived in G-Block."

"That's… This is…" Izumi began to speak in a quivering voice, but quickly stopped short, knowing that if she continued there was no doubt she would choke on the sobs that were threatening to come out of her at any moment.

The chief warden may have been able to see her cry, but she absolutely refused to tell or show him just how terrified she really was. She would wait till she was alone before breaking down completely.

Tears continued to silently flow down Izumi's cheeks as the images of Carnival Corpse burned themselves into her memory.

The room had grown silent, and Izumi found herself suddenly wondering if she would have been better off still unconscious with a fractured skull.

Tamaki reached out to lightly place his hand on her shoulder, the grin never leaving his face. "Welcome to the real Deadman Wonderland, Miss Amaya."

**Yes, I realize it is a bit of a slow chapter with information most of us already know about Deadman Wonderland, but I feel it's important to not skip over such chapters – how else would the main character know about it otherwise? Next chapter will have the introduction of the Deadmen! Look forward to it! :)**


	3. Chapter 3: Into the Depths

**A big thanks to the reviewers of my previous chapter: ****AnonimousGuest**** and ****Itegumo****! Your reviews make me so excited to write more of this story! :) Anyway, I would have had this chapter out sooner, if it didn't take so long to write and edit. Originally I planned to end it sooner, but I felt by doing that the chapter would have been too short and uneventful, so I added on to it. That said, I hope everyone likes it, and as always, don't forget to favorite/follow/leave a review! I don't own Deadman Wonderland – only my OCs.**

"Mad World" by Gary Jules

Chapter 3: Into the Depths

Izumi grimaced slightly as she swallowed one of the blue "candies" Takashima had given her the previous day. If she had to take the bitter medicine every three days to stay alive in Deadman Wonderland, she would have thought that the least the higher-ups could do was make it bearable to take.

_At least I didn't have to worry about the taste when I was unconscious_, Izumi sighed, thankful that they had given her a liquid form of the candy through an IV at the time. Now all she had to worry about was getting one every three days to keep her collar from killing her. That is, assuming she lived long enough.

Tamaki had explained a little about Carnival Corpse to her when he had come to visit, so Izumi knew that it was one way to get candy. Whether there was any other way to find candy she wasn't sure. Izumi didn't bother dwelling on it too much though, as she figured she would find out upon her release from Takashima's care in the next few minutes.

As if on cue, there came a short knock on the door to Izumi's room, and the doctor appeared with two armed guards dressed in white uniforms like those of the ones who had been with the man named Genkaku – Undertakers, Takashima and Tamaki had called them. Supposedly they were the guards who were assigned specifically to G-Block and G-Ward: the Anti-Deadmen Corps.

"Come to take me further into hell?" Izumi asked the three with little emotion, her gaze steady as she watched them enter the room. Despite her calm exterior, her heart was starting to beat frantically in her chest for fear of what was to come, and she held her hands firmly together as if in prayer, hoping that the action would keep her from visibly shaking.

Takashima nodded in response, the corner of her mouth upturning into a smirk. "If that's what you'd like to call it, then yes."

Turning to the guards behind her, Takashima gave a jerk of her head towards Izumi, and the two moved forward, one of them producing a pair of handcuffs. Izumi frowned at the metal cuffs and raised an eyebrow to Takashima as they were roughly placed around her wrists, locking her hands together.

"What's the point of handcuffs if I'm already stuck down here with injuries? And even if I tried to escape, wouldn't it be meaningless with the collar around my neck?" she inquired.

Takashima gave a shrug. "That's never stopped people from trying. It's just a precaution; it's required for everyone when they're first moved in."

"Could a Branch of Sin be used to break out of them?" Izumi asked merely out of curiosity. It would be good to know strong the Branch of Sin could be. If it could easily pierce through flesh and bone, then could it do the same to something as strong as metal or steel as well?

"I suppose if these were a normal pair of handcuffs, then yes, there's a good chance you might be able to break them. But then these are specially designed for Deadmen. They nullify your powers, so you won't be using your Branch of Sin with them on."

"Not like I know how to anyway," Izumi mumbled to herself and looked away. Even if her Branch of Sin was strong enough, she honestly didn't know how to use it – much less control it. She had only used it once.

"I suggest keeping your head bandaged for at least another day, so I'm giving you some extra bandages to take with you," Takashima said then, handing Izumi a couple small rolls of cloth once her handcuffs had been secured. "After that you're free to keep the bandages off, although I'd still watch the back of your head for a little while if I were you. However, if something should happen, you're welcome to come by the main infirmary down on floor five."

Izumi gave a curt nod in understanding. With nothing more to say to the woman, she stood from where she had been sitting on her bed and allowed the two Undertakers to lead her from the infirmary, leaving the doctor to her other work.

Izumi had no idea where the two men were taking her, aside from what was most likely to be her new quarters in G-Ward. With any luck, they would just drop her off and that would be the end of it.

_Of course I could always just ask them_, she figured, but decided against it for fear of what they might say or do as a result. In a situation like this, it was probably safer to stay quiet and out of the way.

Taking a deep breath, Izumi followed the two Undertakers into an elevator down the hall from the room she had previously occupied, watching as the doors slowly slid closed behind them.

One of the men pressed a button marked "G3" on the wall once the doors closed, and a second later Izumi felt the elevator begin to descend, taking them down into what she could only assume were the very depths of Deadman Wonderland.

After a few moments, the elevator came to a stop, letting out a ding upon reaching the selected floor. The doors slid aside and Izumi was roughly pushed out from the elevator into a dimly-lit corridor that curved to her right and left.

The Undertakers stepped out behind Izumi, both taking positions at her side as they turned to the right and began escorting her down the empty corridor.

The walls were bare like those in the prison's other wards, and any doors were on the left side of the hall and had a small curtained window. As they reached a door marked "G3-27," the Undertakers beside Izumi stopped, prompting her to stop as well.

The Undertaker on her right turned to face her and produced an electronic key, unlocking her handcuffs with the push of a couple buttons before jerking them off and storing them elsewhere on his person. At the same time, the Undertaker on her left produced a cast card from his pocket and handed it to Izumi.

"This is your new cast card," came a voice, unfriendly and gruff, from behind the white mask. "You can use it like the previous one to store cast points and get into your room. If you don't have your key…" He turned to a small box built into the wall beside the door and pressed several numbered buttons. "You can still get in by plugging in your card ID number. Your ID is 65211," he said, as the door to her room slid open with barely a sound, creating an expanse of blackness before the three of them.

"All of your supplies should be inside," the Undertaker to her left continued. "Floors one and two above this contain the rest of the Deadmen living spaces, and floors four and five are used for other purposes. Floor six is where Carnival Corpse is held. When called to participate, you're to report there. Otherwise you are not to go to the sixth floor. You are not permitted access to floor seven."

"I understand," Izumi replied quietly, and shortly afterwards the two men turned and headed back in the direction from which they came.

"Ah…um…." Izumi started to call out to them, unsure of what to say. But neither man seemed to hear her – or at least they refused to acknowledge that they heard her, and continued down the corridor until they were out of sight. Izumi continued to stare after the Undertakers, even to the point that she could no longer see them.

It was then that she finally turned her attention back to the doorway in front of her, looking into the darkness before her.

Blindly stepping forward into the room, Izumi transferred her new cast card and bandage rolls into her right hand while reaching out for the wall with her left in search of a light switch. After a few seconds of stumbling in the dark, her fingers finally found the small switch, and with a flick of her wrist the room was suddenly illuminated in fluorescent light.

Walking farther into the room, Izumi closed the door behind her, and looked around at the place she was now to call home.

The room was bigger than her previous cell, but the only piece of furniture in the space was a simple full-size bed in the back left corner. Against the back wall to the right was also a tinted window, yet when Izumi stepped closer to look out of it, she found it offered a view of nothing more than metal walls and gears that she guessed hid the entire G-Ward from the rest of the world. Then again, what had she really expected to see in a prison underground?

Turning back to face her room, she noted a TV mounted into the wall next to her bed, as well as a folding glass door that from what she could see, led into a small bathroom. _At least it's private_, she thought and moved towards her bed to place down the few supplies in her hands.

As Izumi approached her bed though, she noticed a small pile of supplies nestled into the covers.

_I guess this was the stuff that Undertaker was telling me about_, she told herself as she began shuffling through the contents on her bed: some basic bathroom supplies, a new prison uniform – since she had been unable to get another one while in the infirmary and was currently stuck wearing a loose white T-shirt and pair of pants, and now her cast card, medical bandages, and remaining candy.

_Everything a girl needs to get through the day_, Izumi joked to herself and laughed weakly.

Laughing. When was the last time she had laughed? She couldn't remember, but it seemed like it had been so long ago. Izumi had always liked to laugh, yet she never recalled it being such a painful thing to do as it was now as tears began to pour from her eyes, streaming down her face in rivers before falling with soft plops to the floor below.

She bent down then over the bed, her knees folding to hit the cold floor as her face came to rest on a thin layer of blanket. The tears would not stop as she lay partially across the bed, and her laugh now sounded more like ragged gasps for air.

She definitely couldn't remember a time when laughter had been quite so painful.

* * *

The room was dark when Izumi woke, yet her eyes still burned from crying. Searching in the darkness, she found the small green numbers of the clock displayed in the wall next to the TV, informing her that it was half past eight in the morning.

Closing her eyes, Izumi rolled over in bed to face the bare wall next to her. She couldn't remember what time she had fallen asleep the night before, or if it had even been nighttime when she had fallen asleep. For all she knew it may only have been a couple hours ago; time wasn't something Deadman Wonderland seemed to experience.

At this point, she was just glad she had been able to sleep – and for once without the bloody nightmares that had been plaguing her since she had arrived in Deadman Wonderland, reminding her of what brought her there in the first place as well as what horrors lay ahead.

Before she had fallen asleep, Izumi had showered and replaced her clothes with the standard green uniform and shoes. The uniform was a little big on her, but at least it allowed for some ventilation of air. She was equally happy that the prison had let her keep her undershirt and underwear when coming in too.

The bandages on her head had been due for replacement as well, although she had wanted nothing more than to keep them off at the time. Since she hadn't looked at herself in a mirror since before she was attacked, there was some worry that she would find a complete stranger staring back at her in the mirror.

However, upon seeing herself in the bathroom mirror, she had been relieved to find that she still looked like her old self – albeit somewhat more pale and with a terrible haircut. After that she had decided it was probably best to keep the bandages on until she found a pair of scissors to cut her hair with.

Once clean and her bandages changed, Izumi had cleared off her bed, putting the bathroom supplies in their proper place and her cast card and single remaining candy under her pillow before curling herself up under the covers. She didn't want to go outside just yet, and the idea of eating something only made her stomach turn, so she settled for burying herself under the blanket until sleep overcame her.

Now she was regretting that decision as she lay in bed, her stomach audibly begging for food and her throat dry. If only she had asked for food before she left the infirmary…

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Izumi forced herself to open her eyes once more and sit up in bed.

_Thus officially begins my first day as a Deadman in G-Ward_, she thought and pulled off the covers. It took all of her willpower to get herself off of the bed and across the dark room to turn the light on. In the dark she could pretend she was somewhere – anywhere – else. But once the lights came on, she was forcefully pushed back into the harsh reality that was life.

Stepping into the bathroom, Izumi proceeded to wash her face, groaning as she observed her poor reflection. She still looked pale as she had earlier, but now she looked utterly exhausted.

"I guess sleep doesn't offer rest here either," she mumbled to herself and attempted to smooth out some of the wrinkles left in her uniform from having slept in it. She didn't even bother trying to comb her hair since the bandages made it a difficult task. After putting her shoes on and slipping her cast card into her pocket, she made her bed, making sure that her candy was still situated under her pillow before moving to exit her room.

Approaching the door, she stopped once it was a single pace before her. Behind this door was a new world. One she was unfamiliar with and fearful of. Stepping into it could potentially kill her, but it could also be what saved her.

Clenching her fist and straightening her posture, Izumi pressed the button for the door and turned off the light. She had to be brave. If she wasn't, this new world would eat her alive without hesitation.

The door opened, and Izumi stepped out into the corridor. _Here goes nothing…_

* * *

Izumi shifted back and forth from foot to foot as the elevator took her down to the fourth floor. It was only one floor below the one her room was on, but the trip seemed to take forever as she waited alone in the elevator.

The Undertaker who had spoken the day before didn't specify what floors five and six were used for – aside from the infirmary being on the fifth floor as Takashima had told her, so she figured it was worth a shot to see what was there, hoping a cafeteria would be on one of them. If not, she wasn't sure what she was going to do. The Undertakers could have at least acknowledged her when she was trying to get their attention in the corridor the other day…

"Stupid prison. Stupid prison guards," she mumbled in frustration and bit her lip, so preoccupied with her thoughts that she hardly noticed when the elevator doors slid open and she found herself facing a man dressed in a gray pair of pants and a black overcoat, his equally dark hair spiked back from his face to reveal a tattoo over his right eye.

His appearance startled Izumi so much that she had to keep herself from jumping back further into the elevator for fear that he might threaten her like the two men she had killed had done. But the man made no such move, and only glared down at Izumi.

"You going to move or what?" he uttered, and stepped past her into the elevator.

Izumi felt crushed under his gaze and lowered her head, not wanting to risk making eye contact with the man. Then, without a word, she quickly exited the elevator and moved into the fourth floor corridor, too afraid to see if the man's gaze was still on her.

The moment she heard the doors close behind her, Izumi slumped down against the wall.

"So much for bravery, huh?" she spoke to the air around her, the annoyance clear in her voice. "I'm supposed to act strong down here, dammit! Why the hell am I cowering instead?!" she said and slapped her hands against her face a couple times before letting out another breath. "Alright, Izumi, just calm down. You're going to be okay. Just stand tall and put a serious look on your face – that should keep people uninterested in you, right?" she reasoned out loud, although she couldn't imagine anything ever going that well.

After another minute of pep talk, Izumi stood and began making her way once more down the corridor, glancing at each door label she saw for an idea as to what lay behind each door they accompanied.

_Clothes shop… shoe store… music and movie store… geez they have everything down here_, Izumi thought in awe before stopping when she saw a pair of doors with a sign labeled "restaurant" above them.

While she was genuinely curious by then about what else G-Ward contained, at that moment, her stomach was in complete control of her actions, as she found herself already opening the doors to the space beyond.

The room was large – much larger than Izumi had expected, with its interior looking like that of a five-star restaurant. The floor was covered in a red-patterned carpet, and the walls appeared to be made from white marble, each holding large paintings that stretched at least seven feet high. The back wall was lined with two-seat tables, while the tables in the center of the room had anywhere from four to eight seats. Directly to Izumi's right and left stretched four long buffet tables, and at the ceiling's center was a large modern-looking chandelier made from glass and surrounded by smaller light fixtures built into the ceiling.

It was one of the last things Izumi would have expected, and if someone told her it was all a dream, she probably would have believed them.

From her peripheral vision Izumi was able to note that there were several people seated around room, although none seemed to pay her any attention. It was probably better that way.

She walked farther into the room and was just turning towards one of the buffets laid out when a woman's voice called out from behind her. "Hey! You, in the uniform!"

Izumi stopped walking and turned around partially, praying that she wasn't the one the voice was referring to. But when she turned around, she saw a woman at one of the tables in the back looking directly at her, and noticed in the next moment that she was the only person in the room wearing a Deadman Wonderland uniform.

Hiding her worry, Izumi straightened her posture and did her best to look unfazed as the woman motioned her over to her table. After a moment's hesitation, Izumi approached the woman across the room till only the table separated them.

"Yes?" she asked, hoping that the woman wasn't going to pick a fight with her.

The woman wasn't scowling or glaring at her, which surprised Izumi somewhat since just about every person she had met up until that point had been rude and/or prone to violence. But then again, this was a prison, so what had she expected?

The woman her had darker skin and short silver hair, and may have been a few years older than Izumi. She wore a faded floral print shirt under a hooded jacket, and wore what appeared to be some sort of charm around her neck. She didn't look that threatening, but Izumi knew better than to judge someone solely based on their appearance.

"You're the new Deadman here, aren't you?" the woman asked, and Izumi nodded.

"I'm Izumi Amaya. I just transferred in yesterday," she replied, figuring an introduction wouldn't do much harm.

"Karako Koshio. Nice to meet you," the woman said in return.

There was an awkward silence for a moment then as the two stood regarding one another from opposite ends of the table, as if they were waiting for the other to make a move. Izumi was the first to make that move, yet she expressed it in the form of a question.

"How did you know I was new?" she inquired, breaking the silence. She wasn't sure how many Deadmen were in G-Ward or if they interacted like the gangs in the rest of the prison did. Somehow she couldn't imagine people who were forced to brutally fight each other for another's pleasure hanging out like friends.

"Believe it or not, we're usually told in advance when a new Deadman is coming." Karako smirked. "And even if we're not, word spreads pretty fast down here. Just because we're locked up doesn't mean we're ignorant about everything else going on outside."

Noting Izumi's lack of response, she leaned back in her chair and gestured for Izumi to take a seat. "It's alright, kid. There's little chance of anyone attacking you here unless you go looking for trouble or try and escape," she assured Izumi as she took a seat across from her. "Everyone's fairly content with the place when they aren't in Carnival Corpse, but even so, you should always watch your back," she warned. "It isn't unheard of for a strong Deadman to gang up on a weaker one. There is a reason we're all in a prison and not a circus or shopping mall."

"So even if one prisoner attacked another, the guards wouldn't do anything to stop them?" Izumi inquired.

"Maybe, maybe not," Karako shrugged. "It all depends on who you're dealing with. If they're regular guards, then there's a chance they'd at least get the attacker to stop, but if they're Undertakers or their foot soldiers…" she trailed off with a slight grimace. "Well, let's just say they won't be so kind."

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me. I first met them when I came to G-Block, and again yesterday when I was taken to my new room," she explained.

"Yeah, everyone meets them when coming down here," Karako told her with a sigh. "It's most likely to keep anyone from getting any ideas about trying to leave."

Izumi nodded in agreement. "I figured as much. But why doesn't anyone use their Branch of Sin to try and fight back. I was told that it can be very powerful and cut through almost anything," she said, recalling what Takashima had told her. "If everyone down here is a Deadman, why not use it to help escape?"

"Unfortunately, things aren't that simple," Karako told her. "Although the Undertakers may not have the Branch of Sin – as I'm sure you're realized – they are prepared to fight against it. It's one of the primary reasons they're down here with us. The Undertakers who brought you down here were armed, weren't they?" she asked and Izumi nodded.

"One of them had a gun, and the other a katana."

Karako leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest. "While they appear to be regular weapons, their made from something else – something that renders our Branch of Sin useless. But that's as much as we know of that stuff. If you tried to attack with your Branch of Sin, you'd only be wasting blood."

_Like the handcuffs they put on me when I came down here_, Izumi thought to herself before her stomach let out a growl. Lightly blushing in embarrassment, Izumi bent over in her seat with her hands over her stomach, as if doing so would cover up the sounds of her hunger.

"Sorry about that," she apologized to Karako, having briefly forgotten the reason she had come to the restaurant in the first place. "I don't think I've eaten in the past twenty-four hours."

"Nothing to apologize over," the woman replied with a wave of her hand. "You can get something to eat if you want."

Izumi nodded and stood from her chair. "Do you mind if I sit with you while I eat?" she asked, still blushing slightly. She felt like a child asking such question, but the hope that she had found someone she could speak to made her determined to stay with Karako a little while longer.

Much to her relief, the woman gave her consent.

After filling a large plate with food and paying for it with her cast card, Izumi returned to the seat across from Karako and proceeded to eat as if she hadn't eaten in days. The food was excellent, and Izumi was relieved to find that keeping her food down was much easier than it had been when she was in the infirmary.

"So have you ever seen Carnival Corpse before?" Karako suddenly asked out of the blue, causing Izumi to almost choke on her food as she swallowed it. In truth she had been hoping that they wouldn't discuss the subject while she was eating, but Karako didn't seem to be bothered by such a gruesome topic despite the fact that she had probably just eaten. _She's probably been here for a while_, Izumi figured, feeling somewhat bad for the woman.

There was a brief pause, and Izumi shifted her gaze away from Karako and down to her plate.

"I haven't," she admitted, shaking her head. "But they showed me pictures, so I have an idea about what it's like."

"But you should at least see it before it's your turn to participate. It's better to go into a situation and know what to expect than to go in blind."

_Yes, but it's not something I'm sure I want to see_, a voice in Izumi's head spoke fearfully as she turned her face back up to Karako's.

The woman glanced somewhere off behind Izumi for a moment and gave a nod. "You should watch this," she said, her gaze once more coming to rest on Izumi, "for your own benefit, if nothing else."

Izumi froze, swallowing the food in her mouth before slowly putting her fork down. It was obvious she didn't need to ask Karako what she was referring to.

Forcing herself to turn around in her seat, Izumi looked behind her to see an illuminated projection had appeared on the wall not far from where they were sitting.

The words "Carnival Corpse" were presented in colorful block letters across the makeshift screen, and immediately Izumi felt the food she had been eating settle uncomfortably in her stomach. She prayed she wouldn't throw up in the next hour or so.

What looked like a large bird cage came into view a moment later to replace the text on the screen and Izumi frowned. The only light came from somewhere above the cage, yet it was enough for Izumi to make out a number of small colored squares suspended in the air around the cage.

At first Izumi thought what she was seeing was perhaps a picture, but a sudden flickering of movement from within the cage convinced her otherwise. Squinting to try and make out what had caused the movement, Izumi leaned towards the screen as the camera began to zoom in, only to realize a moment later that the moving shapes inside the cage were actually people.

"They put them in a giant bird cage?" Izumi quietly asked no one in particular, finding the idea rather odd. She hadn't remembered seeing a cage in the images the chief warden showed her, but she convinced herself that she was simply too preoccupied with other things at the time to have noticed.

The camera continued to close in on the two people, and Izumi's eyes widened as she recognized the one standing on the right.

"That's…"

**Who does Izumi recognize on the screen? What will she do now that's she's in G-Block? Why am I asking you all these questions? XP Alright, so we only have brief introductions to a couple of Deadmen in this chapter, but obviously that will change (a lot) in the coming chapters. There's also a good chance that the next chapter will be long like this one, so look forward to it! Until then, I hope everyone has a great week!**


	4. Chapter 4: First Day Experience

**New chapter! Yay! As always, a big thanks to my reviewers: ****AnonymousGuest****, ****AriaTheScarletRose****, and ****Guest****, as well as everyone who has favorited/followed this story so far! You guys rock! I'll admit this chapter was a pain to write seeing as I got sick soon after I started writing it and am still in the process of getting better. As such, I may go back and change some things later on if necessary, but feel free to comment if you see any spelling/grammar errors. I don't and never will own Deadman Wonderland – only my OCs.**

"Pray!" by Apocalyptica

Chapter 4: First Day Experience

Izumi's eyes were wide as her mouth opened in a silent gasp as she recognized one of the two men participating in Carnival Corpse. Gray pants, black overcoat, spiky hair…she was looking at the very man she had run into when coming out of the elevator.

"That man…he…I…" Izumi was speechless. Sure, she didn't know the guy, but the idea of running into someone who was about to possibly be dismembered or killed sent a chill down her spine.

An announcer's voice suddenly came through the projection's unseen speakers, welcoming everyone to the spectacle and promising them that they were in for yet another treat.

_They're treating this just like a sport match_, Izumi thought with horror and disgust as she looked around the restaurant to find its other occupants gathered around projections elsewhere to watch the fight. With a pained expression on her face she turned back around in her seat to look at Karako, earning a frown in response.

"Is it always like this?" Izumi asked.

Karako gave a curt nod. "Every time."

Izumi turned back to the screen as the announcer went on to introduce the two participants, naming the man Izumi recognized as "Crow" and the other as "Sparrow."

The one called "Sparrow" looked to be somewhere in his thirties, with short brown hair and a slim figure. However, in comparison to Crow, he didn't look quite so intimidating, choosing to keep a mild expression on his face and wearing a navy blue uniform that didn't look so different from Izumi's.

From across the cage, Sparrow appeared to shout something at Crow, but the announcer's booming voice ruined all chances of the audience catching anything. Izumi assumed it was an insult of some sort, but when she looked at Crow, she was surprised to find him smirking at the man. A moment later he followed up by shouting back what was probably an insult of his own and proceeded to flip his opponent off.

Sparrow's expression contorted into one of anger, and in the next minute he reached into his uniform's right pocket and pulled something out. The object was too small for Izumi to make out, but she figured that whatever it was it couldn't be much bigger than a nail.

Sparrow seemed to adjust the unidentified object in his hand, and without warning, drove it into the palm of his left hand before doing the same to his right. A moment later, blood began to seep from Sparrow's hands, the deep red liquid forming two thin speared bars that measured almost a foot long and a couple inches thick.

At the same time, from his own side of the cage, Crow bent his arms out in front of his chest, his thumbs pointing inwards, and slid them against the back of his forearms from his elbow to his wrist simultaneously. Like with Sparrow, blood began to pool from his wounds, only in his case it formed a large curved blade along the back of each forearm.

Sure, for a moment Izumi thought it looked kind of cool, but in no way did she want to be on the receiving end of those blades.

As soon as both men had their Branches of Sin activated, a loud buzzer sounded around the cage, and faster than Izumi could have imagined, both men charged at one another, brandishing their weapons.

The next ten minutes were like a dream to Izumi, with both men blocking and dodging blows and slashes at incredible speeds, only to attack with full force a moment later in the hopes of injuring one another.

There was so much going on between the two that it was hard to keep up with their movements, and Izumi wasn't sure whether to follow their physical bodies or the paths of their Branches of Sin. Now and then she would catch a small spray of blood shed by one of them, but it was nearly impossible to identify whose blood it was when neither seemed to show any signs of being injured or slowing their attacks.

It wasn't until one of Sparrow's parries slipped by an inch that Crow was able to take the upper hand in the fight, dragging the blade on his right forearm down vertically to slice into his opponent's unguarded left leg.

Sparrow let out a howl of pain and stumbled back in surprise at the sudden hit, allowing Crow a chance to move in to deal the finishing blow: a slice stretching from the man's left hip up to his right shoulder.

A spray of blood appeared between both men, and sparrow fell backwards, coughing up blood as he made impact with the ground. After a couple more ragged coughs, Sparrow's pained gasps began to cease, and his form grew motionless as he appeared to lose consciousness.

When it became clear he wasn't going to get back up, a loud bell rang out.

The fight was over.

* * *

Izumi continued to stare at the wall where the screen had been even after it switched off. _Oh my God… Oh my God… _She was almost shaking with fear as her mind replayed the fight she had just seen.

Truly, watching Carnival Corpse was on a whole different level than simply being shown images of the event. And to think she would be participating in such a thing. Somehow she just couldn't bring herself to actually believe it was all real.

Yet the man named as "Crow" had grinned at his opponent and taunted him. How could he have done such a thing in such a situation? Unless it was to lighten the mood for himself? she wondered. And on top of that, fighting had looked like the most natural thing in the world to him. If anything, he seemed to be enjoying himself in Carnival Corpse.

And it wasn't just Crow that was having a good time either, Izumi thought as she glanced around.

Even some of the Deadmen in the restaurant with her and Karako were cheering and laughing as if they hadn't just watched two men fight each other till one lay bloodied and barely conscious on the ground.

_Perhaps some people really do belong in G-Block and Carnival Corpse_, she thought to herself, but quickly brushed off the idea. It was one thing to say someone should be in prison, but a completely different thing to say that violence and torture should be forced upon them. Izumi may not have known very much about prison systems in general, but she was pretty sure that they weren't meant to encourage such actions or behaviors.

Izumi was in such a mixed state of emotion that it wasn't until Karako called out to her that her attention snapped back to the present. Biting her lip, she willed herself to turn back to Karako where the woman met her gaze head-on.

"I know it's not pretty, but you'll get used to it. You have to if you want to survive down here," Karako told her, her face serious. "And besides, if you lose Carnival Corpse too many times, you probably won't live for very long; no pressure."

"And what happens when you lose?" Izumi asked, despite realizing it was probably something gruesome. But she had to know. No one – not even Tamaki – had said anything about what happened if you lost a fight.

"Well, to put it bluntly: they gamble for one of your body parts."

"Come again?" asked Izumi, confused at Karako's statement and not quite sure she had heard correctly.

"The 'Too Bad for the Loser Show.'" Karako explained. "As I said before, it's basically a gamble. See, if you lose Carnival Corpse, then the rules are that you have to give up a part of your body for science and research. An ear, your stomach, a lung… it can be pretty much anything. Regardless of whether it cripples you or kills you, they don't care."

"And the gambling?" Izumi inquired.

"The gambling comes in with their system of choosing a body part. They use a slot machine, meaning it's all by chance, so when you tell them to stop, they'll pull the lever and you lose whatever symbols pop up. If you're lucky you'll lose something like a tooth or a nail, but if not, you could lose something more important like an arm or a leg – maybe even your heart or brain. As I said before, you can lose just about anything here."

Izumi felt the color drain from her face and Karako sighed. "Yeah, it's pretty fucked up. But the way they see it, it's your call in the end that will determine what you lose." She let out a short laugh. "They leave the chance to us so that we can't blame them for what we lose in the end – not that they'd really care if you blamed them for such a thing anyway," she added on and threw a glance back towards the screen. "They should be airing the show for the loser soon. You can watch if you want, but it isn't as popular as Carnival Corpse for obvious reasons."

"No, I think I'll be fine without watching," Izumi stated weakly, and placing her elbows on the table, rubbed her eyes. "So if the loser receives punishment, what does the winner get then?" she finally asked. "Or is it just the satisfaction that they won and are still alive?" Karako shook her head.

"If you win you get a bouquet, a trophy and cast points. The first two don't do shit, but the latter is useful down here. As I'm sure you've already guessed, the cast points work in G-Block like they do in the rest of the prison. The only difference is that they can buy you a lot more down here than they can elsewhere. Winning Carnival Corpse will also get you a lot more cast points than any other events in this prison, so do your best to win."

"I don't suppose I have any other option, do I?" Izumi sighed. "That is, assuming I'm able to learn how to control this …ability," she said after a slight pause and raised her right hand up to her face as if to examine it. She still had no idea how to use her Branch of Sin – not that she really wanted to though.

When Tamaki had told her about Branch of Sin, testing that power out again had become the last thing she wanted to do, despite knowing she would be forced to use it later on. As such, Izumi had put off trying to use that power for as long as she could, but it now seemed she couldn't waste time any longer.

Karako stood then, collecting her empty plates and glass off the table before pushing her chair in with her hip.

"Well, I've gotta go now, Izumi; things to do, people to see. It was nice meeting you," she said and tried to give Izumi an encouraging smile. "If you ever want to talk or anything, there's a good chance you'll find me in the bar or lounge during the day. You should have passed both on the way here."

"I remember," Izumi nodded, recalling having seen a couple doors labeled as such earlier on in the corridor.

"Alright then," Karako said with a slightly sympathetic look, "I guess I'll see you later. Make sure to get some rest, okay?" she instructed, and with a small smile left Izumi to herself once she had given her a nod of promise.

As soon as the Karako exited the restaurant, Izumi let out an audible sigh and leaned back to slump in her chair, the light padding on the back doing little to cushion her neck as she tilted her head back to look up at the ceiling.

Things were looking worse now than they were before, if that was at all possible. Whether she wanted to or not, she needed to learn how to use her Branch of Sin, and she needed to learn fast. There was no telling when her first Carnival Corpse would be, but having some grasp on her power would be better than going in completely clueless and helpless.

* * *

After finishing up in the restaurant, Izumi decided that an exploration around the rest of the floor before trying out her Branch of Sin wouldn't hurt. It was a good way for her to figure out what else the prison had to offer, if not a source of distraction from what she was desperately wishing she didn't have to learn.

_But if I could find a private room of some sort – or maybe a gym_, Izumi thought as she began walking down the corridor to the left, _then I might have someplace to practice my Branch of Sin. _She frowned suddenly. _Then again, from what I've seen and from what Karako said, it sounds like this place has just about everything. If they don't have some kind of exercise room at least, I'll be highly disappointed_, she thought and continued on farther down the corridor, glancing at each door and sign she passed until a door marked as the fitness room was before her.

Quietly approaching the door, she snuck a look through its narrow window, her eyes sweeping the room for any signs of movement.

It wasn't that she was particularly worried about running into other Deadmen; she just didn't feel comfortable with the idea of someone watching her while she practiced something she had never done before. The idea sounded a bit silly, but Izumi had always been self-conscious, so she was always worried about messing up or embarrassing herself in front of others.

When no one came into view, she reached for the door handle and slowly pushed the steel door open.

The fitness room was similar in size to the restaurant, though the décor was obviously very different. A number of weights and exercise machines were spread around the room, and a row of mirrors lined the room's left wall while a large TV screen was built into the back wall.

Taking in the room, Izumi gave a quick nod. It wasn't as private as she would have liked, but it would have to do. After all, she had no intention of practicing in her room and risk getting blood everywhere. True, that was probably over-exaggerating what would happen, but Izumi didn't really know what to expect, so she saw this as a simple precaution.

Closing the door behind her, Izumi stepped farther into the room and positioned herself to stand in front of the mirrored wall.

Rolling up her uniform sleeves to her elbows, she looked down at her arms.

If she wanted to use Branch of Sin, she would have to cut herself deep enough to draw blood, but not enough – hopefully – to put her life in terrible danger. Of course she also had to be careful not to lose too much blood when fighting as well. While having control over your blood and using it as a weapon was a necessity for Carnival Corpse, losing a lot of it without intending to… Izumi shivered at the thought of what might happen if she lost consciousness in the middle of a fight. Sparrow had been lucky that Crow didn't continue to attack him once he was down and out, but there was not telling if any of the other Deadmen would be so merciful.

Turning her thoughts back to the present, Izumi inspected her arms once more. She knew cutting her wrists or the back of her hands would be a big mistake, but she wasn't sure about anywhere else. Izumi wasn't a doctor, and she had never had medical training of any sort, so she would have to be careful where she cut until she got a better understanding of the human body.

Then again, she was only practicing now. It would probably be best to start out with smaller cuts until she grasped some control, rather than making big cuts and potentially losing a lot of blood while attempting to gain control, she reasoned.

After a moment of debating, Izumi finally decided on cutting along the backs of her forearms. Crow had cut himself there and been fine throughout his fight, so she figured she would give it a shot as well. The only thing to do now was find something sharp enough to cut herself with.

Looking around the room, Izumi frowned. Obviously there were a lot of objects that could bruise and break things, but none of them were really good for drawing blood, and Izumi wasn't too keen on trying to bite her arms open.

_I could always try breaking the mirrors or the TV screen_, she thought to herself, placing a hand against the cool glass in front of her. If she were to smash one of the weights against them, surely they would break. But was she allowed to do that?

Izumi glanced around the edges of the ceiling. There weren't any cameras that she could see.

Walking over to the weight stand and picking up one of the smaller weights, she carried it over to the farthest mirror and crouched down. Taking the weight firmly in both hands, she swung it like a baseball bat against the bottom corner of the mirror, hearing a solid crack before bits of glass fell to the floor.

Quickly returning the weight to its proper place, Izumi bent down and began picking through the broken pieces of mirror. She put the bigger ones in her uniform pocket while carefully collecting the smaller bits and throwing them away in the trashcan on the other side of the room.

Then, delicately taking the largest shard from her pocket and holding it flat in her grip, she positioned it above the skin on the back of her right forearm. She prayed this wouldn't give her sepsis. Taking a couple deep breaths to calm herself, she observed the glass in her hand once more and in the next moment brought the edge into her skin, wincing at the pain it sent through her arm.

It took less than five seconds to carve into her skin, and when she was finished, she was left with a cut about two inches long. Inspecting the wound and giving it her approval, she then moved to do the same to her left forearm before throwing the bloodied piece of glass into the trash once the task was complete.

Looking down, she watched as the blood began to pool around her wounds. The red liquid didn't appear any different like part of her had expected, yet a familiar feeling was beginning to worm its way through her body; a cool, almost prickling sensation in her veins that was beginning to numb the pain caused from the cuts. She had felt this sensation before, and recognized it as the one she had experienced when she killed the two prisoners before coming into G-Block.

Narrowing her eyes, she concentrated on the blood seeping from her cuts, putting all of her willpower into commanding it to stop. For a moment the blood continued to trickle down her arms, but as Izumi watched, the blood's drip began to slow, until eventually it stopped all together. Izumi's eyes widened in disbelief, and she brought her arms closer to her face to examine the blood.

When the blood stopped, she had thought it hardened, but to her surprise it was still in liquid form. A grin pulled lightly at Izumi's lips at the sight. As twisted as it was, there was almost something beautiful about it. It was almost as if time had temporarily stopped, giving her a glimpse of a single moment in time.

Lowering her arms then, she flattened her hands, splayed her fingers, and waited. Slowly but surely, blood began to creep further down her arms in small rivers, streaming over her knuckles and curling around her fingers. As it reached her fingertips, the blood began to pool together once more, forming a thin, skin-like coating that spread over her hands while the blood on her fingers thickened and extended.

Izumi watched the blood flow for another minute before she gave a quick, hard flick of her wrists, and immediately the blood solidified around her hands, the red liquid that encased and came out past her fingers sharpening to points.

_So the Branch of Sin is controlled primarily by willpower, but at the same time has to work with the movements of the body itself; I have to feel what I want it to do too_, Izumi thought and looked on in fear and awe at her hands. These were what had killed the prisoners, and these would be her weapons in Carnival Corpse. She couldn't deny that the thought made her cold all over.

Letting out a breath to compose herself once more, she willed for the blood to liquefy and move back towards the cuts on her forearms.

It action took a few moments to complete again, but steadily the blood retracted from her hands and began to pool over her self-inflicted wounds.

_It may not be as impressive as the Branches of Sin I saw earlier, but at least I'm making some progress here._ She flexed her fingers on both hands before balling them into fists and clenching them tightly. _But I still need to be better – and faster, if I want to stand a chance in Carnival Corpse_ _I have to keep practicing._

Izumi closed her eyes, slowly inhaled, exhaled and reopened her eyes, determination shining brightly in them. _Now then: once more._

* * *

Exhausted, Izumi fell back onto her bed and stared up at the illuminated ceiling. She had been practicing with her Branch of Sin for hours and by now she was feeling the effects.

It had taken a while for her to increase the speed of calling on her Branch of Sin, and even longer to hold control of it for more than half a minute.

In her current condition, she could keep it in check for no more than a few minutes at a time, and controlling it while moving hadn't been much easier either. To be truly skilled, she would have to master using her Branch of Sin so that she could control it almost – if not completely, subconsciously.

Izumi sighed and then winced as her arms protested once more to the labor they had been put through. She had expected that using Branch of Sin would cost her some energy since she was losing blood, but moving her arms and hands about had become very tiring the longer she practiced. Even eating something at the restaurant once she had finished practicing wasn't enough to give her back the energy she had lost and now needed.

_I guess I'll need to work on building up my stamina and strength while I'm here as well_, she admitted to herself before easing herself up off the bed. If she didn't get off the bed soon, she would probably fall asleep, and sleeping in sweaty clothes wasn't that appealing an idea to Izumi.

She threw a glance towards the clock on the wall, taking note that it was only early in the evening despite how tired she felt. Then again, judging time was nearly impossible to do when underground. And besides, it wasn't like she had a schedule to keep down here, she reminded herself.

Bending down and reaching beneath her bed, Izumi produced the spare clothes she had worn when getting out of the infirmary and placed them on the bed before proceeding to strip out of her uniform. As much as she wanted some new clothes, she knew she didn't have too many cast points left, and since she didn't know when she might be getting more, they were going to be spent solely on food and drink. Until she was able to get more cast points, she would also have to make due with cleaning her clothes by hand. It wouldn't be fun, but at least it would save her a little more.

Discarding the rest of her clothing, she picked up her other set of clothes and made her way towards the bathroom, only to be stopped by the sound of the TV switching on.

The sudden noise startled Izumi, and she turned to face the screen as a familiar booming voice began to narrate to a spotlighted stage.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls: it's once again time to announce the participants of our next Carnival Corpse!"

The sound of cannons going off sounded and streamers began to color the screen, followed by the appearance of two large bird eggs. The commentator went on. "And tomorrow's lucky players are…" There was a steady drumroll, and a second later both eggs popped open to a cymbal crash, each revealing a cartoon caricature of a bird with a small photo underneath of the actual Deadman. "…Heron and Nightingale!" the commentator exclaimed enthusiastically, and the sound of cheering filled the speakers.

Izumi nearly dropped her clothes on the floor as she stared at one of the photos plastered on the screen. Slowly, she lifted a shaking hand and placed it against her trembling lips. "I'm Nightingale?" she whispered fearfully as numbness began to make its way through her body.

"Participants are to report to Carnival Corpse tomorrow at 2 p.m. for the match. Anyone not participating: be sure to tune in for a bloody good time as our newest Deadman faces off in the ring!" the commentator finished before the TV screen went black and all sound was cut off, throwing the room into silence.

Without a sound, Izumi went into the bathroom and shut the door, placing her clothes by the sink and turning the shower on as hot as it would go before stepping in. The water burned against her skin, yet she found the pain soothing as it warmed her shivering body. Izumi was terrified beyond explanation. She could scream and cry if she wanted to, but her fear was so great that it overwhelmed her senses, making her feel as if she was nothing more than a zombie.

Almost an hour had passed by the time Izumi finally stepped out of the shower, her fingers wrinkled and her skin pink from the heat – particularly around the cuts on the back of her forearms. For a moment she considered wrapping the cuts up in bandages to keep away infection and let them heal, but she quickly dismissed the idea, knowing she would only have to open them for her fight the next day.

Wrapping her towel around herself, Izumi stepped out from the tub and examined herself in the mirror.

Her appearance hadn't really changed that much in the past day, not that she had really expected it to. She still looked somewhat pale and weary, and her hair was a mess she noted as she had forgotten to take her bandages off before getting into the shower.

Takashima had told her to keep them on for another couple of days, but now they seemed pointless in Izumi's eyes. Was there really a point in them pretending to care for her health and well-being if they were just going to send her out to fight afterwards? It was like helping a fallen child to stand, only to push them back down a second later.

Reaching up, Izumi began to fiddle with the damp white cloths, pulling at them until her head was free.

Pushing the dark purple locks of hair from her eyes, she grimaced once more at her reflection. If she somehow managed to survive Carnival Corpse tomorrow, she definitely had to do something about her hair. It just didn't look right to have random short and long patches around her head, even if they did help cover the stitches.

After getting dressed, brushing her teeth, and gently combing her hair, Izumi made her way back out into the bedroom. The numbing feeling was returning once more, and turning all the room's lights off, she crawled into bed and under the covers in an attempt to warm herself and get the feeling back in her body.

She was still scared of what would happen the following day, but her fear was beginning to fade as pure exhaustion crept over her from her constant anxiety and the day's events.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Izumi buried her head deep into the pillow, grimly thinking that if she was lucky she wouldn't wake the following morning.

**How's that for a long chapter? I'm not sure the next one will be this long, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I hope everyone liked this chapter and will look forward to the next! Don't forget to favorite/follow/review! Doing so will make me happy and inspire me to write more faster than if I didn't have any. :) **


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